1. Field of the Invention
The specification generally relates to identifying and distinguishing between products in an image that vary in size but have a similar product packaging. In particular, the specification relates to a system and method for determining a size of each identified product in the image based on a marker that is used as a reference in the image.
2. Description of the Background Art
A planogram is a visual representation of products in a retail environment. For example, a planogram may describe where in the retail environment and in what quantity products should be located. Such planograms are known to be effective tools for increasing sales, managing inventory and otherwise ensuring that the desired quantity and sizes of an item are placed to optimize profits or other parameters. However, presentation and maintenance of adequate levels of stock on shelves, racks and displays stands is a labor-intensive effort, thereby making enforcement of planograms difficult. While the location and quantity of products in retail stores can be manually tracked by a user, attempts are being made to automatically recognize the products.
Previous attempts at recognizing products have deficiencies. For example, existing image recognition techniques fail to distinguish between objects that are similar in appearance but vary in size.